For many months now I have been busy working away on artwork for my upcoming solo exhibition entitled ‘A Sense of Place’. The exhibition is to be held at Tetbury Goods Shed, Old Station Yard, Cirencester Rd, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8EY from the 25th of September until the 3rd of November 2024.
Tetbury Railway Station was one of the stations axed in the Beeching cuts of 1964 when many branch line railways were closed. It was given a new lease of life in 2016 when it was converted into a multifunctional arts centre. It now has great acoustics and some very large walls for which I am preparing in excess of 70 pieces of art!
Note: If you intend to visit, please do check with the Goods Shed beforehand (01666 505496) as they occasionally have functions that necessitate closing the building to the public.
Image: Tetbury Goods Shed, Tetbury, Gloucestershire.
My Inspiration
Working from home just a couple of miles away from Tetbury, I chose the title ‘A Sense of Place’ as I wanted to celebrate the world around me in the beautiful Cotswolds. For those that may not know the word ‘Cotswolds’ comes from 'cot' referring to a sheep enclosure, and 'wolds' which means rolling hills. Historically the area was known for its wool with many mills and market towns, but now it is a tourist destination famous for its picturesque towns such as Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Campden. The buildings are largely made of Cotswold stone which is a honey-coloured limestone which gives the buildings an attractive colour - even on a dark, wet day. It is also on the west of England which means that it enjoys the rain that the Gulf Stream has picked up on its several-thousand-mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean. This makes it very lush and green.
Image: Gumstool Hill, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, UK.
The wild and crazy diversity of the natural world is an inspiration and I have an enduring fascination with the organic shapes created by nature - in all its many forms.
How I Create Art
I often work using initial methods that suggest a subject to me that I then enhance. This means that I literally don’t know where a particular piece is going – and I like it that way! I find using this approach to be challenging, fascinating & rewarding. This results in an eclectic mix of subjects including animals, plants, people, landscapes, still life & abstract art. It also means I work in a variety of media (mostly acrylic) combined with collage. I consider collage to be a very varied & underrated art form. For more on this topic see Two of My Favourite Techniques and An Approach to Making Unique Acrylic Art.
My aim is to create vibrant art that lifts spirits and adds joy and zest to any space. I don’t take it all too seriously and I hope that comes through in the artwork produced. I have worked hard to create the artwork for this exhibition, but thoroughly enjoyed the process. It is my hope that visitors have fun appreciating them!
From now up until the opening of the exhibition I am going to share some of the artwork created and some videos of the processes involved on a weekly basis.
Your Invitation
In the meantime, consider this to be your invitation:
'Meet the Artist'
I will also be in attendance on Saturday 28th September 2024 between 11 am and 2 pm if you want to ‘Meet the Artist’.
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